As early as 2015 Birr 20|20 Vision held public meetings regarding possible future uses of the courthouse. This fine early nineteenth century building, located on Emmet St, has been abandoned since 2013, as a result of court sittings being transferred to Tullamore following the financial crash in 2010. Since falling into disuse, the courthouse has been gradually degrading, but by 2018 was clearly deteriorating badly. That year Birr 20|20 Vision successfully secured funding for a scoping study for the courthouse from Offaly Local Development Company, commissioning Louise Browne Associates to undertake the work. The resulting document, Birr Creative Court – A Scoping Report on the Potential of the Birr Courthouse, was launched in Birr Library in June 2019 and subsequently presented to Offaly County Council. The scoping study concluded that Birr Creative Court presented an exciting opportunity to refurbish and re-purpose Birr Courthouse into a centre for creative professional practitioners in the visual, performing and digital arts, to live and work, striving for excellence, with peer and community support.
The ownership of the building was transferred to Offaly County Council in 2021 and funding was sourced from the Heritage Council, Creative Ireland and Birr Municipal District for a Conservation Masterplan, which was completed by Conservation Architects Howley Hayes Cooney following a period of consultation with the Birr 20|20 Vision Courthouse Working Party. This working party, headed by Birr 20|20 Vision’s Arts Pillar Fiona Breen, included representation across the Arts sector in Birr, as well as an Offaly County Council representative and a representative from Birr Boxing Club. The completed conservation plan highlighted both the potential of the building, but also the threat to its fabric from years of neglect. The report estimated a sum of c. €2,000,000 was needed to bring the building into a condition where it can be used. Arising from the report in 2021 the County Council applied to the Historic Towns Initiative and the Historic Structures Fund and secured over €300,000, which was spent carrying out essential repairs, including securing the roof of the building and repairing the windows on the front façade and the front door.
In January 2023 the Courthouse Working Party and Offaly Local Development Company submitted a business plan to Offaly County Council demonstrating the financial sustainability of the Creative Court project; they also confirmed the support of the Trench Trust, a viable working body of supporting artists who wished to use the Creative Court and the support of the Festivals Collective. The latter in their joint strategy report Seeing the Beyond – Birr Festivals planning for a shared future (also commissioned by Birr 20|20 Vision) pointed to the need for development space, as well as space for a common administration. The five festivals agreed that any Birr Creative Court, together with Birr Theatre, should collaborate to support the work of artists, film-makers and musicians, which would itself feed into a strengthened and expanded Birr festivals programme.
Autumn 2024 also saw a number of significant steps forward. Firstly across September and October Birr 20|20 Vision supported a series of artist facilitation days, led by Workhouse Union, to better articulate how future artistic spaces in the Courthouse might be used. These days included a visit to Callan in County Kilkenny, where Workhouse Union have helped guide the town in becoming a home to creative collectives, such as KCAT Arts Centre, Equinox Theatre Company and many more. These workshops were essential in conceptualising how the Creative Court might operate in the future. Most excitingly however, was the successful submission of a planning application by Offaly County Council for the development of the Courthouse, based on detailed plans drawn up by architectural firm Howley Hayes Cooney. This Part 8 application was approved in October meaning the Creative Court is ‘shovel ready’ as soon as suitable rehabilitation funding can be identified and secured. Securing this funding and the preparation of a revised business plan as the next major steps in the 10 year+ Creative Court project!
